Can You Get Struck by Lightning Inside a House?

A:

Quick Answer

An individual can get struck by lightning inside a house; while not all buildings have metal-work interweaved in the framing, houses that do contain metal in the framing act as Faraday cages, protecting their contents from electric fields. Houses without metal frameworks are not shielded from electricity.

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An electric field is produced when there is a force surrounding a charged particle, such as a proton or an electron; a Faraday cage distributes these electrostatic charges around the exterior of the cage, effectively shielding its contents from this electrostatic charge. This allows the interior to maintain a neutral charge and keeps the electrostatic charge limited to the exterior of the cage.